Every Jew Has Right to Entry and Citizenship in Israel, Ben Gurion Tells Parliament

July 5, 1950

JERUSALEM (Jun. 4)

It is the right of every Jew in the world to enter Israel and assume citizenship there , Premier David Ben Gurion told the Israel Parliament last night. He was speaking in behalf of a series of government-sponsored citizenship bills.

The Premier stressed that this right existed before the state of Israel — that it was ” granted by Jewish history.” He pointed out that since the seventh century B.C.E. Jews were to be found in every country of the world, but that the Jewish homeland has always been a bond among them. He cited as evidence of this point the fact that Jews from 55 nations fought in Israel’s Army during its war of liberation. Finally, the Premier emphasized that although the right to return to Israel is guaranteed to all Jews it does not give Jews priority rights over other citizens of the state.

Later, a bill to abolish capital punishment, except for acts of treason during war-time, was presented by Minister of Justice Pinkas Rosen. Introducing the measure, Minister Rosen declared that a “criminal endangers the life of the individual, whereas treason endangers the state, especially now when our young state is surrounded by enemies and nobody knows what the morrow will bring.” He asked that the Parliament adopt the bill, otherwise “the state will have to find a hangman and I doubt whether one can be found in Israel.”